A.N.: Um... Hi everybody! We didn't take ages to update... :ahem:. Of course not. Sorry about it, we've had it all written out for quite some time, but dear ZiBl kept on forgetting to get the written copy to me so I could type it! Oh well, it's here now. Since we felt SO bad about being late as hell (our original plan was to update once a week AT LEAST, lol, you can see how that worked out), we're giving you double whammy- two chapters at once! Whee! Hope you like! Oh yeah- Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Disclaimer: J.K. owns Harry Potter, and the fabulously talented Rumiko Takahashi owns Inuyasha. We love them both.

Dancing With the Dragon

A FanFic by: two insane idiots named samwise-dragoneyes and ZiBl

Chapter 4: Lessons and Red Purses

As Ginny watched the last part of Draco's cloak swish around the corner, she couldn't help but grin. The challenge is in the bag, to use one of Dad's Muggle expressions. I can't wait to see everyone's face when he asks me out in front of the entire school! Pansy Parkinson, Michael Corners (stupid git), Hermione, Harry, Ron- she stopped, and the smile was wiped off hr face.Ron. He'll kill Malfoy. For a moment, concern flitted across her face. Just as she was considering running after Malfoy and calling the whole thing off, an annoying tune began playing in her head. 'His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, his hair is as dark as a blackboard...' Ginny's eyes narrowed,as an echo ofMalfoy's voice filled her ears. "I don't think Potter liked your Valentine much!"

"He deserves it," she muttered, and was turning back towards the DDR machine to get some more practice when the sound of soft footfalls stopped her. Looking into the corridor, she saw Mrs. Norris, thankfully looking the other way at the moment, but not for long. Sighing exasperatedly, she put on her cloak and left as quickly as she could. I'll go see if Dane's still up.

"You want me to WHAT?"

"The look on your face would be priceless if I wasn't serious. And you heard what I said, Blaise."

"And I still can't believe it. You made it abundantly clear that you despise all Muggle things, including the DDR machine, and now you want me to teach you?"

"Shut up, Blaise. I'll explain later." Glancing around the common room, Draco found that several people had noticed Blaise's raised voice and shocked expression and were now looking inquiringly at the chairs he and Blaise occupied near the fire. It was one of the Slytherin's unwritten codes- Never lose control of your emotions. Always be expressionless, and show no weakness. Blaise, like Draco, noted his housemates' interest, and his face quickly reverted back to its usual placidity. Draco pulled out a piece of parchment, scribbled something on it, and handed it to Blaise, usual smirk firmly in place.

"Lord, Zabini, don't have a hissy fit. Here's your homework." He looked around the common room for a moment, then, seeing his bag, picked it up and strode smoothly out of the common room. Blaise waited for the attention to drift away from him, then tucked Draco's parchment into his History of Magic book, glancing at it as he did so. It said, simply:

Room of Requirement, 15 minutes.

Blaise smirked. That was Draco's way, secrecy and lies.

Fifteen minutes later, Blaise entered the room, sat down on one of the couches richly upholstered with black velvet, and stared at Draco.

"Explain."

"Where to start, where to start..." Draco muttered.

"Are you going to force me to be cliché and say 'at the beginning'?" Blaise snapped irritably.

"What's your problem today?"

"After you left, the "Slytherin Quidditch Players Fan Club" decided I needed some cheering up before our big game on Sunday, so they showered me with praise on my, as they called it, 'legendary talent'. Pansy even tried to give me a little physical encouragement." Blaise shook his head in disgust. "They're a disgrace to the Slytherin name."

Draco winced involuntarily. "Tough luck."

"Yeah, no kidding." Blaise muttered, and closed his eyes. "But I digress. Why this sudden interest in DDR?"

"Better get comfortable, this is going to take some explaining. I guess it all started when the littlest Weasel found me cutting my hair on the train..." For the next half hour, he explained everything that happened in perfect detail, ending with his humiliating defeat the previous night.

"So a Weasley kicked your ass, eh?" asked Blaise, grinning. "You really do need my help, don't you?"

"Shut up. She's getting lessons too, you know. She must've been so afraid she'd lose to me she ran to the best Gryffindor she could find."

"No, she's confident she can beat you any day, but she wants to burn you so badly you'll never insult her or her family - including Potter and the Mudblood - ever again. And how do you know she's got a tutor?"

"I was walking behind her in the halls today and fully intended to push rudely past her and give her the death glare, but then I heard her mutter, and I quote, 'I may tell Dane to call off the lessons after last night. I almost felt sorry for him - he didn't even see it coming.' She thinks she's won already, and I intend to take full advantage of that. And how do you know what she's thinking?"

"Cause her family pride's as strong as mine; I'd be doing the same thing if I was in her place. Now, about those lessons... When do we start?"

"Now." And with that, Draco grabbed Blaise's arm and started dragging him down the corridors towards the Inter-House Challenge Room.

Ginny walked into the Common Room and, spotting Dane, walked over to him.

"Dane, I think we should call off the lessons. I'm as good as I need to be."

"No way!" he exploded. "You've got the most potential I've seen in ages, you may even be..." he paused dramatically. "almost as good as me someday! So I'm gonna keep training you. And if you don't like it, then wah, cry me a river."

He looked up at her, expecting her to argue, and was surprised to see her standing perfectly still with a dreamy look on her face.

"Imagine," she said in mock rapture. "To be almost as good as the legendary Dane! All my dreams would come true!"

"Oh, shut up. It'll take a lot of practice for you to be that good, it won't happen overnight. Actually, that a good thing right now, seeing as everyone's talking about you as it is."

"What? They are? Why?"

"Ask Koharu, she's the one that told me about it in the first place." Ginny looked around the common room, encountered a few glares, which puzzled her, and many encouraging grins and thumbs-up signs, which confused her even more, before spotting Koharu studying quietly by the fire.

She looked up at Ginny as she approached. "Hey Gin. What's up?"

"I was talking to Dane a second ago, and he said the whole school's talking about me! When I asked him about it, he said to ask you. So, why me?"

"Because of the competition you're having with that one Slytherin."

"Draco Malfoy?"

"Right. But apparently it's shocking that you two deigned to even talk to each other, much less agreed to be in the same room at the same time."

"So the glares I'm getting..." Ginny started, but Koharu finished for her.

"Are because they're pissed that you're associating with a Malfoy, and the grins are cause they're rooting for you to kick his ass."

Ginny nodded. "Well, it was bound to get out sometime, there was no sense in hiding it. If I did, then when it finally got out, people would wonder why."

Koharu smiled quietly. "Yup, that's about it. Oh, by the way, call me Kagome, okay?"

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her. "Wha..." she said, and was about to ask where the name came from when Dane rushed over.

"You watch Inuyasha?" he asked Koha...well, Kagome now, excitedly.

"You watch Inuyasha?" she replied, grinning. "No way!"

"Yeah! How many episodes have you seen?"

"The first 45 or so, and then a few here and there after that. Wow, I never thought anyone else at Hogwarts knew about it!"

"Uh... guys? What's Inuashu or whatever it's called?" Ginny interrupted, looking utterly confused.

"Ginny, you don't know about Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. When Ginny shook her head, she launched into a full-blown explanation. "It's this totally awesome anime show with this girl in modern times named Kagome who falls down a well and emerges in the feudal age, and she's got this thing called the Shikon no Tama inside her and all the demons want it, including a half-demon named Inuyasha, but then..."

"Draco, how many times do I have to tell you to keep your feet off the middle before you get it straight?" Blaise asked, exasperatedly running his hand through his hair. "You'll never be any good if you keep your feet in the middle all the time!"

"I'm trying, Blaise," Draco growled.

"Obviously, you're not trying hard enough. Think of the serious shot to your ego if you get your ass kicked."

"My pride will be fine whether I win or lose; it's only a stupid Muggle game anyway."

Blaise thought for a moment, then grinned wickedly. "Then think of Pansy's sympathy if you do lose."

"That's too terrible to contemplate," Draco muttered to himself as he pounded out the final steps to the song. He awaited his grade and sighed in frustration when it came back - D.

"Start again, Draco. You're not leaving this room until you get a C at least."

At 8:00 that night, Ginny stepped into the Inter-House Challenge Room, eager for more practice. She hadn't been able to play since the previous night, and she felt like she was going to die of DDR withdrawal. Seeing the room empty, she sighed happily and stepped onto the left-side pad. Selecting 'Daikenkai', a song with Japanese lyrics she'd become attached to, she smiled.

"Malfoy didn't show up. I guess he didn't want the humiliation of a rematch."

"You're right about the humiliation part, Red. But Ido want that rematch." Ginny nearly jumped out of her skin. Whipping around, she glared at Draco, not caring that Daikenkai was still going on in the background.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you not to sneak up on people, you prat?"

"Oh shut up, Weasley, you sound like an old grandmother," Draco retorted. Putting both hands on his hips and conjuring up a voice more shrill than Ginny would have thought possible, he scolded, "Draco Malfoy, if you sneak up on me one more time, you'll give me a heart attack!" Ginny giggled, throwing Draco off balance. He was trying to piss her off, not make her laugh! "What are you laughing at?" he sneered.

Ginny shot him a sideways glance, eyes twinkling. "I was just imagining you in an apron, clutching a big, red purse in your hands."

Ginny swore she saw Draco's lips twitch. "Like Snape, you mean?"

Now it was Ginny's turn to be surprised. Malfoy, being nice to her? But even in her confusion, she grinned. Neville, who was actually quite a good artist when he didn't spill ink all over his work, had drawn a picture of his Snape-boggart for her. It was one of her most prized possessions, and sometimes it was the only thing that kept her from tearing Snape's throat out in Potions. "Something like that," she said.

They stared at each other silently for a moment, then, Draco's eyes widened and his face settled back into its usual disgusted sneer. "I'm not here to talk, Weasel. I don't usually talk to trash, and I don't intend to start now. So let's get on the damn thing so I can beat you."

"You don't usually talk to trash? Then you must not talk to yourself very often," Ginny shot at him as she stepped on the dance pad, face twisted with hate. Draco glared at her as usual, but if she had looked closely, she would've seen a look of confusion in his eyes. Whoa, we were almost... nice... for a second. What the hell?